How I Missed You.

Defensive Much?

James

“Hey James, pass the sticky tape!” Jacob called to me.

I grabbed my bag and unzipped the front pocket, pulling out a gigantic roll of sticky tape. I threw it over to where Jacob, Cooper and some of my other friends were standing.

We were out on the oval, being idiots as usual, there was nothing else better to do with our time.

After I re-closed my bag I walked over to the guys, Craig had gotten a bunch of sticky tape and stuck Jacob and Cooper together at the waists.

I looked over my shoulder, a bunch of girls were standing there. Looking back I saw Jacob wink to them, of course he was only doing this to show off.

“Reese? You got the camera ready?” I smiled.

“Yeah man, it’s all fired up and ready to go,” he chuckled, pressing the record button on the video camera.

“You better get in here Jimmy, you guys are gonna need all the help you can get,” Jacob joked.

I laughed and squeezed in the circle. The group of girls had conveniently for Jacob gotten closer. Curiosity was, I think, the main reason, but Jacob seemed to have some other idea. Winking at the girls he signaled for us to go.

We all got in closer and started pushing them both, trying to lift them off their feet and make them fall over. The purpose of the game was to simply be stupid, pass the time and get them to hurt themselves so we’d have something funny to put onto YouTube. Either they were super good at balancing or we were just really weak, because we never did manage to push them over. After about ten minutes they had claimed victory and we had nothing finny or exciting to put on YouTube.

“What idiots’,” I heard one of the girls sneer.

“Funny idiots,” another girl giggled.

“Uh, don’t you mean cute idiots?” another said.

Then I heard another voice, “You know you could have managed to push them over if you had grabbed their legs,” the voice wasn’t of disapproval, or ‘wow’–ness, it was sheer, ‘you’re doing it all wrong’—ness and that was something Jacob couldn’t stand for, even though he wasn’t the one doing the pushing, he couldn’t stand anyone bagging his mates. It made him feel like he had chosen bad friends.

“Oi, you! Mind your own business, you dweeb,” Jacob sneered.

“Hey dude—” I started but the girl cut me short.

“Don’t defend him!” she yelled, “He needs to get a taste of his own medicine! He’s a jerk, who tries and fails to show off in front off girls,” emphasis on the fails.

One girl scoffed, went to say something but thought twice about it.

“Maybe we should just—” I began again.

“James, shut your pie hole,” Jacob shot at me.

“Hey, dude, I’m on your side,” I defended.

“You’re defending him?” the girl shrieked.

“What?! I—no,” I stumbled.

“No?”

Oh fantastic, now there were three people yelling at me; them and my mum. “Don’t turn this into a fight guys. Jacob man, you can’t afford another suspension. Not now anyway!”

Jacob growled and went to lurch forward at the girl but pulled back. The girl snickered and crossed her arms.

“Come one man. Lets just go,” Cooper tugged on Jacob’s shirt.

Jacob pulled his arm out and stomped off.

“Your such and idiot, Arianna! Now he’ll never go out with me!” One of the girls shouted stomping off.

“Bitch!” One sneered, and the other one just shrugged, I guess she didn’t know what to think, she was the girl who called us idiots at the beginning.

Both girls then walked off in the direction of their other friend.

I heard Arianna sigh, “Aren’t you gonna go off with your friends?” Reese asked her.

“Why? You heard what she said. Sierra hates me now. I just ruined her only chance with Jacob,” Arianna rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think you ruined her chances, maybe yours,” Craig said.

“Ha ha, very funny, as if I’d ever want to go out with that jerk.”

“Hey, Jacobs our friend,” Cooper defended.

“Oh yeah, what a great friend, always telling you what to do isn’t he?” Arianna asked.

“He does not,” I piped up, “we think for ourselves.”

“Sure you do, James, sure you do. Tell me, which one of you is best friends with Jacob?”

We all looked around, and stuck out a finger at each other.

“See, he’s not a real friend, he doesn’t care about you and you know it.”

“Just shut up bout Jacob!” I practically shouted, “it’s none of your business anyway! Just leave it.”

I walked off, I didn’t know why I was so mad, I just was. Maybe it was the fact that deep down inside I knew she was right. I had never considered Jacob to be my best friend; that had always been Coop. How did I become friends with Jacob? The thought puzzled me for a while, up until the bell rang and I realized I had P.E next.